Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Oct 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEvaluation of withdrawal of maintenance tiotropium in COPD.
In chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), patients may not perceive all of the benefits of drug therapy until withdrawal. Thus, we evaluated the effect of tiotropium withdrawal on clinical variables. ⋯ The withdrawal of tiotropium results in worsening of COPD over a three-week interval. There was no evidence of a rebound effect in response to tiotropium withdrawal.
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2009
Multicenter StudyHealth-related quality of life in outpatient women with COPD in daily practice: the MUVICE Spanish study.
A cross-sectional multicenter study was designed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were attended in the outpatient setting in actual conditions of the daily practice. ⋯ In outpatient women with COPD, HRQL was impaired especially the physical component of the SF-12. For the same age and severity of COPD, women showed significantly lower scores in all physical and mental domains of the SF-12 than men.
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2009
Multicenter StudyHealth status perception and airflow obstruction in five Latin American cities: the PLATINO study.
COPD is a highly prevalent disease but underdiagnosed, undertreated and possibly under-recognized by patients. Limited information exists regarding patients' perception of COPD severity. We compared patients' general health status perception, degree of breathlessness and physical activity limitation with the severity of their respiratory condition measured by airway obstruction, in a population-based sample. ⋯ The discrepancy observed between general health status, dyspnea severity, physical activity limitation and airway obstruction most likely reflect patients' underperception of disease severity, emphasizing the need for improving case-finding measures and multi-component evaluation of COPD subjects.
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Respiratory medicine · May 2009
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyCapsaicin cough sensitivity in smokers with and without airflow obstruction.
Cough is a frequent symptom of cigarette smokers that often precedes the development of airflow obstruction. We determined whether chronic cigarette smoking is associated with an increase in capsaicin cough response in the absence of cough. ⋯ We conclude that chronic cigarette smoking increases capsaicin cough reflex and that this remains so with the development of COPD.
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Respiratory medicine · Apr 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyEffects of arformoterol twice daily, tiotropium once daily, and their combination in patients with COPD.
Current guidelines support using in combination more than one class of long-acting bronchodilator for COPD patients whose symptoms are not controlled by mono-therapy. This 2-week, multi-center (34 sites), randomized, modified-blind, parallel group study evaluated the efficacy and safety of concomitant treatment with nebulized arformoterol (the formoterol(R,R)-isomer) BID and tiotropium DPI QD. ⋯ In this study, the combination of nebulized arformoterol 15microg BID plus tiotropium 18microg DPI QD was the most effective in improving pulmonary function and disease symptoms. Mono-therapy improvement with arformoterol or tiotropium was similar. All three treatments were well tolerated.